![\"Smokin'](\"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/IMAG1145.jpg\")
<\/a>Smokin’ Aces<\/p><\/div>\n
On this perfectly, amazing President\u2019s Day morning, I had the privilege of showing my friend, Nicole, some of my favorite parts of Castlewood State Park.\u00a0 We had originally planned to meet on Saturday, but it got pushed to today.\u00a0 And we had originally planned to run 9ish miles\u2026maybe more.\u00a0 However, since I ran 15 on Saturday and she ran 14 yesterday (she\u2019s training for the Flying Pig in Cincinnati the same weekend I\u2019m running Vancouver), we decided not to overdo it.\u00a0 We wanted to tackle some of the hills, but we took it pretty easy, nice and slow and decided on a shorter route.\u00a0 We did a 4 mile loop, ended up back at the parking lot and felt pretty good so we went a few more.\u00a0 Nothing like calling a 7 mile trail run a recovery run, but that summed it up well for both of us.\u00a0 The weather, the scenery and the company were all perfect.\u00a0 Ya can\u2019t ask for more than that.<\/p>\n
Funny side story-Nicole calls me LJ, so I was telling her that one of my other friends who calls me LJ put me into the calendar on her phone recently and auto-correct decided my new name is Lulujamba.\u00a0 Not sure where that came from, but I kinda like it.\u00a0 Anyway, then Nicole said that last night when she told her hubby she was running with LJ, he was like\u2026What?! Who\u2019s that?!\u00a0 She said, \u201cLindsey J, from Fleet Feet\u201d.\u00a0 There used to be 2 Lindsey\u2019s at the store, then for a brief period there were 3 of us, and now we\u2019re back to 2; but it gets complicated so we are ever coming up with new names for each other.\u00a0 Lindsey Harris and I call each other \u201cH\u201d and \u201cJ\u201d, respectively.\u00a0 And Lindsey Farrel is just \u201cFarrel\u201d.\u00a0 Anyway, Nicole\u2019s hubby was glad to hear that his wife was not going off to the woods for some alone time with who he had pictured in his mind for \u201cLJ\u201d and that I am, in fact, not a\u00a0well-built,\u00a0black man.\u00a0 Quite the opposite, actually.<\/p>\n
So, near the end of our run, I was telling Nicole that last night I registered for the Smoky Mountain Relay.\u00a0 This was a race I ran a year ago with the Smokin\u2019 Aces, an awesome group of 8 other peeps who came along right when I needed them, people\u00a0who went from being strangers to friends, literally overnight.\u00a0I was at a pretty low point back then, and that group taught me so much about camaraderie, compassion and confidence, both in other people and in myself.\u00a0 I get emotional thinking about that weekend in the mountains and what that experience meant to me.\u00a0 The Aces are gearing up for the 2013 relay, and we\u2019ve got several returning members.\u00a0 A few have had to bail, due to little things like pregnancies and babies and injuries and such, but the majority of the team should be back and we\u2019ve stacked the deck with some additional players.<\/p>\n
But I was telling Nicole, I kind of struggled with what to do this year.\u00a0 Ya see, this time, the Smoky Mountain Relay, falls on a weekend that I have custody of my kiddos.\u00a0 So, I\u2019m going to have to give up some time with them to go do this.\u00a0 It\u2019s a sacrifice, but it\u2019s also a choice.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been known to struggle with \u201cMom Guilt\u201d from time to time.\u00a0 But something in me was pulling me to do this relay again.\u00a0 Most of my races involve me going out and pushing myself to do my best and then I\u2019m done.\u00a0 This is different. \u00a0I have to rely on my teammates, and they have to rely on me.\u00a0 We have to work together, but we also have an incredible amount of fun in the process.\u00a0 This is a race that I really, REALLY want to go do.\u00a0 And so, I\u2019m going. \u00a0After I told Nicole this, she said she distinctly remembers a time when she was little that her mom was struggling with some things and her mom said to her, \u201cSometimes, as a parent, you have to do things that are good for your soul.\u201d\u00a0 And that\u2019s exactly what the SMR is for me.\u00a0 It\u2019s good for my soul.\u00a0 Obviously, I want to do well for my team, but there is so much more to it.\u00a0 Being in the Smoky Mountains with friends who cheer me on in running and in life, friends who I can have a conversation with while we\u2019re in adjoining port-a-johns, friends who will let me curl up and nap on them in a van after I\u2019m all sweaty\u00a0and haven\u2019t showered, friends who will make me Ramen noodles at 2am, friends who accept me just as I am and love me in spite of myself.\u00a0 That\u2019s good for my soul.<\/p>\n
On April 19, 2013, the Smokin\u2019 Aces will reconvene in the Smokies and we will be gunning for the only team that took us down last year.\u00a0 Look out Maggots, the Aces are coming for you!<\/p>\n
And now for your additional reading pleasure…or if you’re just bored at work and find my ramblings entertaining, I am including something I wrote upon returning home from North Carolina last year,\u00a0following SMR 2012.\u00a0 Enjoy…<\/p>\n
All I Ever Really Needed to Know About Life, I Learned from the Smoky Mountain Relay\u2026<\/p>\n
You are even stronger and more capable than you realize ~ True hospitality is welcoming strangers into your house, when you\u2019re not even there ~ When given the choice, go ahead and start an hour early ~ Take the road less traveled every once in a while ~ There are people who are willing to help you, if you let them ~ Easy does not necessarily mean flat ~ Peanut Butter, Nutella and bananas on tortillas are a great combination ~ If you are going to fall out of the van, make sure you\u2019re wearing pants ~ It\u2019s good to be flexible with the schedule ~ Just because you catch a toad, doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ve found a prince ~ Sometimes you have to blaze an unmarked trail ~ No hair makes you more aerodynamic ~ Its possible to go so fast you feel like you\u2019re flying ~ A sleeve makes a good neck warmer ~ Maggots suck it ~ Don\u2019t forget the Nathan wipes ~ Horses are a little creepy, especially at night ~ You can soak up so much that you get a little soggy ~ Homegrown sausage is delicious ~ You get really comfortable with strangers after 30 hours in a van ~ There are people who will go into the woods to find you and push you up the hill when you can\u2019t do it on your own ~ Mike Hunt is really hard to find ~ Primally-epic is a word, isn\u2019t it? ~ If you feel a little nauseous, eat some chips ~ No matter how bad things may seem, don\u2019t forget to look around and appreciate something amazing ~ Take the map and follow the directions ~ Sometimes you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other ~ Bring an extra pair of socks\u2026or 3 ~ Ramen noodles are not as good luke warm ~ Don\u2019t opt out of a challenge ~ It\u2019s good to be nice to the other teams\u2026at least externally ~ Slap bracelets are still fun ~ Spreadsheets were made to be updated\u2026annnnnd sometimes not ~It\u2019s good to stop and enjoy the view along the way ~ If you\u2019ve got enough energy left to throw a tantrum, you obviously didn\u2019t run hard enough ~ Don\u2019t leave the M&M\u2019s next to the heater ~ Things don\u2019t always go the way you plan, sometimes you have to adapt ~ Personify awesomeness ~ How fast you make the climb is not nearly as important as who is waiting for you when you get to the top!<\/p>\n
Craig~Jan~ Jordan~Ken~Lindsey~Mark~Matt~Nate O~Nathan A\u2026Smokin\u2019 Aces 2012<\/p>\n